The Truffle Hunters

Not sure how they made a documentary like this. Felt like a movie. A little slow, but surprisingly rewarding.

Beautiful static vignettes with a wonderful soundtrack capture one of the most obscure and dying "professions" in Italy. In the sense that there is no narrative, it's just moments from life shot over apparently three years. To be honest, not many of the hunters have anything interesting to say in those staged dialogues. In fact, if you're looking for some extensive information about the process of truffle hunting, this isn't that type of documentary. These old man like bearded dwarfs in the mountain refuse to disclose any secrets and would rather take them to their grave. It doesn't stop them, however, from complaining that young people are not interested in their craft. The movie is very grim in this aspect because the longer it goes on, the faster it becomes more apparent that these people will not leave anything behind but their dogs, as every venture into the night of the forest may be their last.  There isn't anything compelling about the truffle trade or black market either if you're wondering. Even though they do show that process.

A fascinating glimpse of the lives of elderly truffle hunters in Piedmont. A beautifully crafted and edited documentary.

One of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen. If Vermeer made a movie, it would look like this one. We also loved the characters.

Anything Italians engage in that is food-related is pure delight and the ultimate affirmation of life itself.

This film is art. Absolutely joyous but super simple and quiet. A study of humans. I think of Jacques Tati or Francis Ford Coppola, but quieter. Incredible moments and the photography is pure genius. 100%

We were excited for the hubby and wife date night doc, 'The Truffle Hunters', but it was a totally missable adventure. If you speak ANY Italian don't watch with the subtitles as they are often incorrect and lag way behind. This takes away from the beauty of the film because the story gets completely muddled in a mess of subtitles. When conversations are happening and people watching can't figure out who's saying what you have a problem. There's a better film in there, but this one needed a lot more work! Hubby: 6.2/Wife: 3.2 (Only b/c it's shot in Italy) Average: 4.7/10

This great film takes us deep into the heart of Piedmont's truffle country and truffle culture. Most of the dialogue is in the local dialect, as we follow aging truffle hunters, their dogs, and the truffle merchants who buy and sell their product. Wonderful, heartwarming.

This documentary featured some eccentric characters that were interesting but seemed to be acting half the time. I don't know if they were supposed to represent the typical truffle hunter or not but the movie sort of dragged at times.

This is not a movie; so different I don't know how to rate it. More like sequences of video clips just put together. It does contain very beautiful scenery of Italy and if you watch it, you will learn a lot about truffles. Just very different.